Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference
Date: 2023-12-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, European Commission
Subjects: World Trade Organisation, farming sector, fishing industry, food security, health policy, international trade, least-developed country, ministerial meeting, multilateral agreement, settlement of disputes

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.12.2023  COM(2023) 756 final 2023/0440 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL 

This  proposal  concerns  the  Council  decision  establishing  the  position  to  be  taken  on  the 
Union's  behalf  in  the  13th  Ministerial  Conference  of  the  World  Trade  Organization  in 
connection with the envisaged adoption of several decisions.  

2. 

2.1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Agreement  Establishing 
Agreement")  

the  World  Trade  Organization 

("WTO 

The Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (‘the WTO Agreement’) aims to 
achieve the objectives mentioned in  the preamble to  the Agreement. The  agreement  entered 
into force on 1 January 1995. 
The European Union (EU) is a party to the Agreement.1 All 27 EU Member States  are also 
parties to the Agreement. The WTO may take decisions in accordance with the procedures set 
out in the WTO Agreement. 

2.2. 

The Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization 

The  Ministerial  Conference  is  the  highest  decision-making  body  of  the  WTO  and  meets  at 
least once every two years. As a matter of law and practice, decisions are taken by consensus.  

The  next  meeting  of  the  Ministerial  Conference  will  take  place  in  Abu  Dhabi,  United  Arab 
Emirates on 26-29 February 2024.  

The envisaged acts of the WTO Ministerial Conference  

2.3. 
On 29 February 2024, the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (‘MC13’) may adopt decisions 
regarding: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

1 

Dispute settlement reform 

Fisheries subsidies 

Food security  

Transparency improvements in agriculture 

Public stockholding for food-security purposes 

Domestic support in agriculture 

Export restrictions in agriculture 

Export competition in agriculture 

Market access in agriculture 

The special safeguard mechanism (‘SSM’) in agriculture 

Cotton 

TRIPS waiver 

Special and differential treatment  

Council  Decision  94/800/EC  of  22  December  1994  concerning  the  conclusion  on  behalf  of  the 
European  Community,  as  regard  matters  within  its  competence,  of  the  agreements  reached  in  the 
Uruguay Round of multilateral negotiations (1986-1994) OJ L 336 23.12.1994, p. 1. 

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14. 

Least-developed countries graduation proposal - “support measures” in a number of 
specified WTO agreements and decisions (“Annex 2”) 

3. 

POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE UNION'S BEHALF 

The objective of this proposal is to enable the EU to join a possible consensus in the WTO on 
the adoption by the Ministerial Conference of the envisaged acts.  

While it is not yet clear if, and to what extent, WTO Members will be able to reach consensus 
on  the  envisaged  acts,  the  EU  position  at  MC13  has  to  be  established  in  advance  by  the 
Council pursuant to Article 218(9) TFEU.2  

It should be noted that the EU position to support the extension of the moratorium on customs 
duties on electronic transmissions and the extension of the moratorium on complaints of the 
types  provided  for  under  subparagraphs  1(b)  and  1(c)  of  Article  XXIII  of  the  General 
Agreement  on  Tariffs  and  Trade  1994  (non-violation  and  situation  complaints)  will  not  be 
included  in  this  proposal,  as  Council  Decision  (EU)  2015/2236  of  27  November  2015 
provides that this can be done on an indefinite basis. 

The current proposal covers the following issues on which decisions may be taken: 

• 

• 

• 

2 

Dispute  settlement  reform:  At  MC12  in  Geneva  in  June  2022,  WTO  Members 
committed  to  conduct  discussions  with  the  view  to  having  a  fully  and  well-
functioning  dispute  settlement  system  accessible  to  all  Members  by  2024.  These 
discussions  are  underway,  and  the  Union  is  seeking  to  meaningfully  reform  the 
dispute  settlement  system  in  order  to  address  the  interests  of  Members,  while 
preserving its core features which support the rules-based multilateral trading system. 
The Union should support an agreed outcome. 

Fisheries  subsidies:  The  WTO  is  striving  to  reach  a  multilateral  agreement  on 
additonal  provisions  that  would  achieve  a  comprehensive  agreement  on  fisheries 
subsidies  in  line  with  the  UN  Sustainable  Development  Goal  14  Target  6  ("SDG 
14.6") agreed by Heads of States in 2015. The WTO Ministerial Decision of 17 June 
2022  (WT/MIN(22)/33)  adopted  the  Agreementon  Fisheries  Subsidies  and  at  the 
same  time  called  to  achieve  a  comprehensive  agreement  on  fisheries  subsidies. 
Negotiations  on  additional  provisions  are  underway  and  the  EU  should  support  an 
agreed outcome. 

Food  security:  WTO  action  is  needed  in  response  to  the  current  food  security 
challenges, aggravated by the consequences of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified 
aggression in Ukraine, in a context of global environmental challenges. Food security 
is expected to be a strong element of outcomes at MC13. Moreover, the Ministers at 
MC12  endorsed  a  Declaration  on  the  Emergency  Response  to  Food  Insecurity 
(WT/MIN(22)/28,  WT/L/1139)  which  instructed  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  to 
undertake  a  dedicated  work  programme  to  examine  ways  for  the  Decision  on 
Measures  Concerning  the  Possible  Negative  Effects  of  the  Reform  Programme  on 
Least-Developed  (LDCs)  and  Net  Food-Importing  Developing  Countries (NFIDCs) 
(Marrakesh Decision) to be made more effective and operational. At the same time, 
the Members were instructed to consider the needs of LDCs and NFIDCs to increase 

To the extent that, contrary to the current expectations, the consensus was formalised in an international 
agreement  amending  the  WTO  Agreement  or  in  a  plurilateral  international  agreement  among  some 
WTO  Members,  the  Commission  would  make  the  necessary  proposals  in  accordance  with  Article 
218(6) TFEU following the adoption of the texts and their opening for acceptance by the MC13 or by 
the WTO Members concerned during MC13.  

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their resilience in  responding to acute food instability, including by considering the 
best possible use of flexibilities to bolster their agricultural production and enhance 
their domestic food security as needed in an emergency. Members have collectively 
set  a timeline of  end-November 2023 to  conclude a work programme and arrive at 
some common recommendations. The EU should support an agreed outcome. 

Transparency improvements in agriculture:  The EU believes that its submission 
(RD/AG/110) on better tools for sharing information on policies in agriculture could 
be  a  basis  for  a  decision  at  MC13.  This  submission  includes  concrete  ideas  for 
transparency improvements in the areas of export restrictions and export competition. 
Transparency improvements could be an element of a comprehensive solution to the 
problems facing food and agricultural markets today and at the same time part of the 
solution  the  ongoing  food  security  challenges.  The  EU  should  support  an  agreed 
outcome in this area.  

Public stockholding for food security purposes: Negotiations aim at agreeing on a 
'permanent  solution'  fulfilling  the  goal  set  out  in  the  Bali  Ministerial  Decision  of  7 
for  Food  Security  Purposes 
December  2013  on  Public  Stockholding 
(WT/MIN(13)/38-WT/L/913),  as  interpreted  by  the  subsequent  General  Council 
Decision of 27 November 2014 (WT/L/939). This goal was repeated in the Nairobi 
Ministerial  Decision  of  19  December  2015  (WT/MIN(15)/44-WT/L/979).  The  EU 
should support an agreed outcome in this area. 

Domestic support in agriculture: Negotiations on trade-distorting domestic support 
are  embedded  in  Article  20  of  the  WTO  Agreement  on  Agriculture  and  have  been 
part  of  the  Doha  Development  Agenda  (DDA)  mandate,  as  embodied  in  the  Doha 
Ministerial  Declaration  of  14  November  2001  (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1).  The  EU 
should support an agreed outcome in this area.  

Export restrictions in agriculture: Negotiations on export restrictions in agriculture 
have  shown  that  a  large  part  of  the  WTO  Membership  supports  enhanced 
transparency and predictability of the export prohibitions and restrictions, as well as 
improving  relevant  disciplines.  Given  the  importance  of  the  issue,  the  EU  should 
continue to support proposals for a Ministerial Decision on this matter, which could 
constitute an important element of a food security outcome at MC13. The EU should 
support an agreed outcome. 

Export competition in agriculture: There is the need to seek improvements to both 
transparency and disciplines in export competition. There is some chance of progress 
on transparency improvements for  MC13. Indeed, the EU included several  ideas in 
this respect in our submission (RD/AG/110) on better tools for sharing information 
on policies in agriculture. The Union should support an agreed outcome. 

Market  access  in  agriculture:  Discussions  on  comprehensive  market  access 
negotiations in agriculture have confirmed there is limited appetite or realistic chance 
for any revival of substantial tariff reduction negotiations at the WTO any time soon. 
Market  access  is  still  however  part  of  the  balance  in  relation  to  other  areas,  in 
particular domestic support. The EU should support an agreed outcome. 

Special  safeguard  mechanism  (SSM)  in  agriculture:  Discussions  on  the  Special 
Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in agriculture have continued pursuant to the proposals 
on  the  table  and  the  Nairobi  Ministerial  Decision  (WT/MIN(15)/43  -  WT/L/978). 
The EU has an interest to ensure that SSM is not negotiated as a stand-alone element, 

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• 

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but rather as part of the wider market access negotiations. The EU should support an 
agreed outcome. 

Cotton: Discussions on cotton have continued in the framework set up in paragraphs 
5, 6 and 7 of the Bali Ministerial Decision on Cotton (WT/MIN(13)/41 - WT/L/916) 
and in paragraph 14 of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton (WT/MIN(15)/46 
- WT/L/981). The EU should support an agreed outcome in this area.  

TRIPS waiver: The negotiations are part of the ongoing discussions in the WTO on 
how  the  trade  system  can  enhance  global  access  to  COVID-19  medical  vaccines, 
diagnostics  and  therapeutics.  MC12  adopted  the  Ministerial  Decision  regarding  the 
possibility  for  the  eligible  WTO  Members  to  authorise  their  manufacturers  to 
produce  COVID-19  vaccines  without  the  consent  of  patent  owners.  The  product 
scope of the TRIPS Decision covers COVID-19 vaccines as well as the ingredients 
and  processes  necessary  for  their  manufacture.  At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the 
TRIPS  Decision,  there  was  no  consensus  among  the  WTO  Members  to  cover  also 
COVID-19  diagnostics  and  therapeutics.  As  a  part  of  the  compromise,  the  TRIPS 
Decision  stipulates  that  no  later  than  six  months  from  the  date  of  the  TRIPS 
Decision, Members will decide on its extension to cover the production and supply 
of  COVID-19  diagnostics  and  therapeutics.  Despite  discussions  ongoing  between 
July  and  December  2022,  no  consensus  was  found  among  WTO  Members.  The 
WTO  General  Council  in  December  2022  agreed  to  continue  the  discussion  but 
without deciding on the deadline for finalising the negotiations. It is expected that the 
decision  on  whether  to  extend  the  scope  of  the  TRIPS  Decision  to  COVID-19 
diagnostics and therapeutics is taken at MC13.  

Given  the  importance  of  this  issue,  the  EU  should  join  a  possible  consensus  in  the 
WTO on the adoption by MC13 of the envisaged act. At the same time, the outcome 
of the discussions among the WTO Members should strike a right balance between 
addressing  the  public  health  emergency  caused  by  the  COVID-19  pandemic  and 
maintaining incentives for innovation in the area of health. 

Special  and  differential  treatment  (SDT):  Negotiations  on  SDT  provisions 
including  in  the  context  of  discussions  of  some  proposals  by  the  G-90  (African, 
Caribbean  and  Pacific  Group  of  States)  on  sanitary  and  phytosanitary  measures 
(SPS)  and  technical  barriers  to  trade  (TBT)  and  the  policy  space  proposals  by  the 
African  Group  in  areas  such  as  subsidies,  trade-related  investment  measures 
(TRIMS)  and  transfer  of  technology  within  trade-related  aspects  of  intellectual 
property rights (TRIPS) may result in a ministerial outcome at MC13 for example by 
clarifying  existing  provisions  or  granting  additional  SDT  for  Least-Developed 
Countries  (LDCs)  and  certain  developing  countries.  Given  the  divergence  of 
positions  in  the  negotiations,  the  EU  sees  as  a  possible  outcome  that  these  topics 
become  part  of  a  post-MC13  work  programme  or  other  outcomes  that  would  not 
imply changing the WTO agreements. 

Least-developed  countries  graduation  proposal  -  “support  measures”  in  a 
number of specified WTO  agreements and decisions (“Annex 2”): Negotiations 
are  ongoing  on  proposals  by  the  LDC  Group,  listed  in  Annex  2,  on  the  following 
support measures  for a smoother transition  for  WTO members  graduating  from  the 
LDC category: i) extend for an appropriate time-period SDT provisions in a number 
of specified  WTO agreements and decisions; ii) exempt these specified agreements 
and  decisions  from  actions  under  the  WTO  dispute  settlement  mechanism  for  an 
appropriate  time-period;  and  iii)  ensure  continued  access  to  all  LDC-specific 

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technical assistance and capacity building programs and facilities provided under the 
WTO  system  for  an  appropriate  time-period.  Should  a  ministerial  outcome  be 
necessary, the EU should support an agreed outcome. Such an outcome could extend 
certain LDC provisions to recently graduated countries for a strictly limited period of 
time. 

Since negotiations are currently ongoing on all elements above, the Commission expects that 
the Council will take its decision on the EU position on the outcome of the negotiations once 
the  situation  regarding  the  relevant  texts  becomes  clear  during  the  Ministerial  Conference 
itself.  

The  initiative  is  fully  consistent  with  existing  policy  provisions.  Similar  decisions  were 
prepared  for  previous  WTO  Ministerial  Conferences,  including  most  recently  for  the  12th 
WTO Ministerial Conference in 2022.  

4. 

LEGAL BASIS 

4.1. 

Procedural legal basis 

4.1.1.  Principles 

Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for 
decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by 
an  agreement,  when  that  body  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  with  the 
exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’ 

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects by virtue of the 
rules of international law governing the body in question. It also includes instruments that do 
not  have  a  binding  effect  under  international  law,  but  that  are  ‘capable  of  decisively 
influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’3. 

4.1.2.  Application to the present case 

The  WTO  Ministerial  Conference  is  a  body  set  up  by  an  agreement,  namely  the  WTO 
Agreement, which according to Article IV:1 of the WTO Agreement has the authority to take 
decisions  on  all  matters  covered  under  any  of  the  multilateral  trade  agreements,  including 
decisions having legal effects. 

The envisaged acts  mentioned above constitute acts  having  legal  effects,  as they may affect 
the rights and obligations of the Union by virtue of international law. 

The  envisaged  acts  do  not  supplement  or  amend  the  institutional  framework  of  the 
Agreement. 

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU. 

4.2. 

Substantive legal basis 

4.2.1.  Principles 

The  substantive  legal  basis  for  a  decision  under  Article  218(9)  TFEU  depends  primarily  on 
the objective and content of the envisaged act in respect of which a position is taken on the 
Union's  behalf.  If the  envisaged act  pursues two  aims or has two components  and if one of 
those  aims  or  components  is  identifiable  as  the  main  one,  whereas  the  other  is  merely 

3 

Judgment  of 
ECLI:EU:C:2014:2258, paragraphs 61 to 64.  

the  Court  of  Justice  of  7  October  2014,  Germany  v  Council,  C-399/12, 

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incidental, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive 
legal basis, namely that required by the main or predominant aim or component. 

4.2.2.  Application to the present case 

The  main  objective  and  content  of  the  envisaged  acts  relate  to  the  common  commercial 
policy. 

The substantive legal basis of the proposed decision, therefore, is Article 207 TFEU. 

4.3. 

Conclusion 

The  legal  basis  of  the  proposed  decision  should  be  Article  207  TFEU  in  conjunction  with 
Article 218(9) TFEU. 

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2023/0440 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the World Trade 
Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 207(4), first subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

The  Marrakesh  Agreement  Establishing  the  World  Trade  Organization  (‘the  WTO 
Agreement’)  was  concluded  by  the  Union  by  Council  Decision  94/800/EC  of  22 
December 19944 and entered into force on 1 January 1995.  

Pursuant to Articles IV:1 and IX:1 of the WTO Agreement, the Ministerial Conference 
of the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) may adopt decisions by consensus. 
The  WTO  Ministerial  Conference,  during  its  13th  meeting  on  26-29  February  2024, 
may adopt decisions on dispute settlement reform, fisheries subsidies, trade and food 
security,  transparency  improvements  in  agriculture,  public  stockholding  for  food 
security  purposes,  domestic  support  in  agriculture,  export  restrictions  in  agriculture, 
export  competition  in  agriculture,  market  access  in  agriculture,  special  safeguard 
mechanism  (SSM)  in  agriculture,  cotton,  TRIPS  waiver,  and  special  and  differential 
treatment, least-developed countries graduation proposal - Annex 2. 

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the WTO 
Ministerial Conference, as the decisions are binding on the Union. 

Discussions on dispute settlement reform have taken place pusuant to the commitment 
of  Members  at  MC12  “to  conduct  discussions  with  the  view  to  having  a  fully  and 
well-functioning  dispute  settlement  system  accessible  to  all  Members  by  2024.” 
(WT/MIN(22)/W/16).  These  discussions  are  underway,  and  the  Union  is  seeking  to 
meaningfully reform the dispute settlement system in order to address the interests of 
Members, while preserving its core features which support the rules-based multilateral 
trading system. The Union should support an agreed outcome. 

The  WTO  is  striving  to  reach  a  multilateral  agreement  on  additonal  provisions  that 
would achieve a comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies in line with the UN 
Sustainable Development Goal 14 Target 6 ("SDG 14.6") agreed by Heads of States in 
2015. The WTO Ministerial Decision of 17 June 2022 (WT/MIN(22)/33) adopted the 
Agreementon  Fisheries  Subsidies  and  at  the  same  time  called  to  achieve  a 
comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies. Negotiations on additional provisions 
are underway and the EU should support an agreed outcome. 

4 

OJ L 336, 23.12.1994, p. 1. 

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(7)  WTO action is needed in response to the current food security challenges, aggravated 
by the consequences of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine, in 
a  context  of  global  environmental  challenges,  climate  change  and  related  natural 
disasters, loss of biodiversity  and pollution. Food security is  expected to  be a strong 
element  of  outcomes  at  MC13.  Moreover,  the  Ministers  at  MC12  endorsed  a 
Declaration  on  the  Emergency  Response  to  Food  Insecurity  (WT/MIN(22)/28, 
WT/L/1139) which instructed the Committee on Agriculture to undertake a dedicated 
work  programme  to  examine  ways  for  the  Decision  on  Measures  Concerning  the 
Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed (LDCs) and 
Net  Food-Importing  Developing  Countries  (NFIDCs)  (Marrakesh  Decision)  to  be 
made more effective and operational. At the same time, the Members were instructed 
to consider the needs of LDCs and NFIDCs to increase their resilience in responding 
to acute food instability, including by considering the best possible use of flexibilities 
to  bolster  their  agricultural  production  and  enhance  their  domestic  food  security  as 
needed in an emergency. Members have collectively set a timeline of end-November 
2023 to  conclude a work programme and  arrive at  some  common recommendations. 
The Union should support an agreed outcome. 

(8) 

(9) 

The  Union’s  submission  (RD/AG/110)  on  better  tools  for  sharing  information  on 
policies  in  agriculture  is  a  basis  for  a  decision  at  MC13.  This  submission  includes 
concrete  ideas  for  transparency  improvements  in  the  areas  of  export  restrictions  and 
export  competition.  Transparency 
improvements  could  be  an  element  of  a 
comprehensive  solution  to  the  problems  facing  food  and  agricultural  markets  today 
and at the same time part of the solution to the ongoing food security challenges. The 
Union should support an agreed outcome in this area.  

Negotiations  on public stockholding  for food security purposes  aim at  agreeing  on a 
'permanent  solution'  fulfilling  the  goal  set  out  in  the  Bali  Ministerial  Decision  of  7 
December 2013 on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes (WT/MIN(13)/38-
WT/L/913),  as  interpreted  by  the  subsequent  General  Council  Decision  of  27 
November  2014  (WT/L/939).  This  goal  was  repeated  in  the  Nairobi  Ministerial 
Decision  of  19  December  2015  (WT/MIN(15)/44-WT/L/979).  The  Union  should 
support an agreed outcome.  

(10)  Negotiations  on  trade-distorting  domestic  support  are  embedded  in  Article  20  of  the 
WTO Agreement on Agriculture and have been part of the Doha Development Agenda 
(DDA)  mandate,  as  embodied  in  the  Doha  Ministerial  Declaration  of  14  November 
2001  (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1).  The  Union  should  support  an  agreed  outcome  in  this 
area.  

(11)  Negotiations  on export  restrictions in  agriculture have shown that a large part of the 
WTO  Membership  supports  enhanced  transparency  and  predictability  of  the  export 
prohibitions  and  restrictions,  as  well  as  improving  relevant  disciplines.  Given  the 
importance  of  the  issue,  the  Union  should  continue  to  support  proposals  for  a 
Ministerial Decision on this matter, which could constitute an important element of a 
food security outcome at MC13. The Union should support an agreed outcome. 

(12)  There is the need to seek improvements to both transparency and disciplines in export 
competition.  There  is  some  chance  of  progress  on  transparency  improvements  for 
MC13.  Indeed,  the  Union  included  several  ideas  in  this  respect  in  its  submission 
(RD/AG/110)  on  better  tools  for  sharing  information  on  policies  in  agriculture.  The 
Union should support an agreed outcome. 

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(13)  Discussions  on  comprehensive  market  access  negotiations  in  agriculture  have 
confirmed  there  is  a  limited  realistic  chance  for  any  resumption  of  substantial  tariff 
reduction negotiations at the WTO any time soon. Market access is still however part 
of  the  balance  in  relation  to  other  areas,  in  particular  domestic  support.  The  Union 
should support an agreed outcome. 

(14)  Discussions on the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in agriculture have continued 
pursuant  to  the  proposals  on  the  table  and  the  Nairobi  Ministerial  Decision 
(WT/MIN(15)/43  -  WT/L/978). The  Union has  an interest  to  ensure that  SSM is  not 
negotiated  as  a  stand-alone  element,  but  rather  as  part  of  the  wider  market  access 
negotiations. The Union should support an agreed outcome. 

(15)  Discussions on cotton have continued in the framework set up in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 
of  the  Bali  Ministerial  Decision  on  Cotton  (WT/MIN(13)/41  -  WT/L/916  )  and  in 
paragraph  14  of  the  Nairobi  Ministerial  Decision  on  Cotton  (WT/MIN(15)/46  - 
WT/L/981). The Union should support an agreed outcome in this area.  

(16)  The  negotiations  are  part  of  the  ongoing  discussions  in  the  WTO  on  how  the  trade 
system  can  enhance  global  access  to  COVID-19  medical  vaccines,  diagnostics  and 
therapeutics. MC12 adopted the Ministerial Decision regarding the possibility for the 
eligible  WTO  Members  to  authorise  their  manufacturers  to  produce  COVID-19 
vaccines  without  the  consent  of  patent  owners.  The  product  scope  of  the  TRIPS 
Decision  covers  COVID-19  vaccines  as  well  as  the  ingredients  and  processes 
necessary for their manufacture. At the time of the adoption of the TRIPS Decision, 
there  was  no  consensus  among  the  WTO  Members  to  cover  also  COVID-19 
diagnostics  and  therapeutics.  As  a  part  of  the  compromise,  the  TRIPS  Decision 
stipulates that no later than six months from the date of the TRIPS Decision, Members 
will  decide  on  its  extension  to  cover  the  production  and  supply  of  COVID-19 
diagnostics and therapeutics. Despite discussions ongoing between July and December 
2022, no consensus was found among WTO Members. The WTO General Council in 
December 2022 agreed to continue the discussion but without deciding on the deadline 
for finalising the negotiations. It is expected that the decision on whether to extend the 
scope  of  the  TRIPS  Decision  to  COVID-19  diagnostics  and  therapeutics  is  taken  at 
MC13. Given the importance of this issue, the EU should join a possible consensus in 
the  WTO  on  the  adoption  by  MC13  of  the  envisaged  act.  At  the  same  time,  the 
outcome  of  the  discussions  among  the  WTO  Members  should  strike  a  right  balance 
between addressing the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic 
and maintaining incentives for innovation in the area of health. 

(17)  Negotiations  on  special  and  differential  treatment  (SDT)  provisions  including  in  the 
context of discussions of some proposals by the G-90 (African, Caribbean and Pacific 
Group of States) on sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) and technical barriers 
to trade (TBT) and the policy space proposals by the African Group in areas such as 
subsidies,  trade-related  investment  measures  (TRIMS)  and  transfer  of  technology 
within  trade-related  aspects  of  intellectual  property  rights  (TRIPS)  may  result  in  a 
ministerial outcome at MC13 for example by clarifying existing provisions or granting 
additional  SDT  for  Least-Developed  Countries  (LDCs)  and  certain  developing 
countries.  Given  the  divergence  of  positions  in  the  negotiations,  the  EU  sees  as  a 
possible outcome that these topics  become part of a post-MC13 work programme or 
other outcomes that would not imply changing the WTO agreements. 

(18)  Negotiations are ongoing on proposals by the LDC Group, listed in Annex 2, on the 
following  support  measures  for  a  smoother  transition  for  WTO  members  graduating 

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from the LDC category: i) extend for an appropriate time-period SDT provisions in a 
number  of  specified  WTO  agreements  and  decisions;  ii)  exempt  these  specified 
agreements and decisions from actions under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism 
for  an  appropriate  time-period;  and  iii)  ensure  continued  access  to  all  LDC-specific 
technical assistance and capacity building programs and facilities provided under the 
WTO  system  for  an  appropriate  time-period.  Should  a  ministerial  outcome  be 
necessary, the EU should support an agreed outcome. Such an outcome could extend 
certain LDC provisions to recently graduated countries for a strictly limited period of 
time, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 
The  position  to  be  taken  on  the  Union's  behalf  in  the  13th  session  of  the  WTO  Ministerial 
Conference shall be: 

To  join  the  consensus  reached  among  WTO  Members  with  a  view  to  adopting  decisions 
regarding  dispute  settlement  reform,  fisheries  subsidies,  food  security,  transparency 
improvements  in  agriculture,  public  stockholding  for  food  security  purposes,  domestic 
support  in  agriculture,  export  restrictions  in  agriculture,  export  competition  in  agriculture, 
market  access  in  agriculture,  special  safeguard  mechanism  (SSM)  in  agriculture,  cotton, 
TRIPS  waiver,  special  and  differential  treatment,  least-developed  countries  graduation 
proposal  –  “support  measures”  in  a  number  of  specified  WTO  agreements  and  decisions 
(“Annex 2”). 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 2 

For the Council 
The President 

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